Mariel Pettee (Graduate Student with Sarah Demers) in Yale News, ” ‘Blended Reality’ brings diverse perspective to emerging tech”
“Dance artist Mariel Pettee, a Ph.D. candidate in physics, is collaborating with experts in particle physics and machine learning on “Beyond Imitation,” a project to generate choreography through neural network architecture, a form of artificial intelligence.
Pettee has recorded various dance sequences in CCAM’s motion-capture studio. The motion-capture data is fed into the neural networks, which produce variations on Pettee’s movements or invent completely new dance sequences — insights that can inform her choreography and spark creativity.
“I really like the idea of having my choreographic potential recorded in a physical form that I can sample from infinitely,” Pettee said, who is working on the project with Chase Shimmin, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Physics, and Douglas Duhaime, a programmer at Yale’s Digital Humanities Lab.”